U.S. patent number 11,442,299 [Application Number 17/265,546] was granted by the patent office on 2022-09-13 for display module, display device and viewing-angle switching method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd., Chongqing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., CHONGQING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Shanbin Chen, Xiangchao Chen, Yong Deng, Liang Gao, Xianyong Gao, Sijun Lei, Dengqian Li, Yunsong Li, Song Liu, Yong Long, Hebing Ma, Xinzhi Shao, Yansheng Sun, Sen Tan, Xinyu Wang, Zhicai Xu, Genchuan Yan, Ying Yang, Pan Yuan, Fanjian Zeng, Chaojie Zhang, Guojian Zhang, Ying Zhang.
United States Patent |
11,442,299 |
Yuan , et al. |
September 13, 2022 |
Display module, display device and viewing-angle switching
method
Abstract
Disclosed are a display module, a display device and a
viewing-angle switching method. The display module includes a
backlight module, a display panel, a lower polarizer sheet, a
viewing-angle switching element and a transparent cover plate; the
viewing-angle switching element and the transparent cover plate are
arranged between the display panel and the lower polarizer sheet,
and the transparent cover plate is arranged on a side of the
viewing-angle switching element that is close to the lower
polarizer sheet; the backlight module is configured to supply light
that meets a preset condition, the viewing-angle switching element
is configured to switch viewing-angle modes of the display module;
the viewing-angle modes include; a first viewing-angle mode and a
second viewing-angle mode; and a viewing-angle range of the first
viewing-angle mode is smaller than a viewing angle range of the
second viewing-angle mode.
Inventors: |
Yuan; Pan (Beijing,
CN), Lei; Sijun (Beijing, CN), Gao;
Liang (Beijing, CN), Gao; Xianyong (Beijing,
CN), Sun; Yansheng (Beijing, CN), Li;
Yunsong (Beijing, CN), Xu; Zhicai (Beijing,
CN), Long; Yong (Beijing, CN), Zhang;
Ying (Beijing, CN), Li; Dengqian (Beijing,
CN), Zhang; Guojian (Beijing, CN), Zeng;
Fanjian (Beijing, CN), Chen; Shanbin (Beijing,
CN), Tan; Sen (Beijing, CN), Ma; Hebing
(Beijing, CN), Zhang; Chaojie (Beijing,
CN), Liu; Song (Beijing, CN), Shao;
Xinzhi (Beijing, CN), Deng; Yong (Beijing,
CN), Chen; Xiangchao (Beijing, CN), Yan;
Genchuan (Beijing, CN), Yang; Ying (Beijing,
CN), Wang; Xinyu (Beijing, CN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHONGQING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD. |
Chongqing
Beijing |
N/A
N/A |
CN
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
Chongqing BOE Optoelectronics
Technology Co., Ltd. (Chongqing, CN)
Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Beijing,
CN)
|
Family
ID: |
1000006560122 |
Appl.
No.: |
17/265,546 |
Filed: |
May 13, 2020 |
PCT
Filed: |
May 13, 2020 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/CN2020/089948 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
February 03, 2021 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2020/233463 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
November 26, 2020 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20210294133 A1 |
Sep 23, 2021 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
May 17, 2019 [CN] |
|
|
201910413499.1 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F
1/1339 (20130101); G02F 1/1334 (20130101); G02F
1/13476 (20130101); G02F 1/1323 (20130101); G02F
1/133305 (20130101); G02F 1/13362 (20130101); G02F
1/13439 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02F
1/1334 (20060101); G02F 1/1333 (20060101); G02F
1/13 (20060101); G02F 1/13357 (20060101); G02F
1/1347 (20060101); G02F 1/1339 (20060101); G02F
1/1343 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
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104932110 |
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106932854 |
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107664871 |
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108897169 |
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208126055 |
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109725448 |
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JP |
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Other References
104932110 A (Chen, Yu-Wei et al.) machine translation (Year: 2015).
cited by examiner .
First office action issued in Chinese Patent Application No.
201910413499.1 with search report. cited by applicant .
First office action issued in CN108897169A (No. 13) above, citing
Nos. 9-12 references & US20090310064 listed above. cited by
applicant .
Second office action issued in CN108897169A listed above, citing
No. 14 reference listed above. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Dudek; James A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Chiwin Law LLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A display module, comprising: a backlight module, a display
panel, a lower polarizer sheet, a viewing-angle switching element
and a transparent cover plate, wherein the viewing-angle switching
element and the transparent cover plate are arranged between the
display panel and the lower polarizer sheet, and the transparent
cover plate is arranged on a side of the viewing-angle switching
element that is close to the lower polarizer sheet; the backlight
module is configured to supply light that meets a preset condition,
the viewing-angle switching element is configured to switch
viewing-angle modes of the display module; the viewing-angle modes
comprise: a first viewing-angle mode and a second viewing-angle
mode; and a viewing-angle range of the first viewing-angle mode is
smaller than a viewing-angle range of the second viewing-angle
mode, the viewing-angle switching element comprises: a first
transparent electrode, a second transparent electrode, and a
viewing-angle switching layer; the viewing-angle switching layer is
located between the first transparent electrode and the second
transparent electrode; the first transparent electrode is located
on a side of the viewing-angle switching layer that is close to the
display panel; and the first transparent electrode and the second
transparent electrode are configured to apply an electric field to
the viewing-angle switching layer to change a state of the
viewing-angle switching element; wherein the display module further
comprises: a flexible circuit board, a first conducting wire, a
second conducting wire, a third conducting wire, and a fourth
conducting wire; the first conducting wire and the second
conducting wire are arranged on a side of the display panel that is
close to the viewing-angle switching element, and are respectively
connected with the flexible circuit board; the third conducting
wire connects the first conducting wire and the first transparent
electrode; and the fourth conducting wire connects the second
conducting wire and the second transparent electrode, the first
conducting wire and the second conducting wire are further
respectively arranged on two side surfaces of the display panel
which are opposite to each other, and the second conducting wire is
electrically connected with the flexible circuit board by wiring in
the display panel.
2. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the preset
condition is that a light emergent angle is less than or equal to
45 degrees.
3. The display module according to claim 1, wherein a material for
fabricating the viewing-angle switching layer comprises: a polymer
dispersed liquid crystal.
4. The display module according to claim 3, wherein states of the
viewing-angle switching element comprise: a transparent state and a
scattering state, when the viewing-angle switching element is in
the transparent state, the viewing-angle switching element is
configured to cause light incident thereon to emerge along an
incident direction, and the viewing-angle mode of the display
module is the first viewing-angle mode; when the viewing-angle
switching element is in the scattering state, the viewing-angle
switching element is configured to scatter incident light, and the
viewing-angle mode of the display module is the second
viewing-angle mode.
5. The display module according to claim 3, wherein each of the
first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is
provided with a transparent insulating layer on a side away from
the viewing-angle switching layer.
6. The display module according to claim 3, wherein the
viewing-angle switching element further comprises a switcher
sealant; and the switcher sealant connects the first transparent
electrode and the second transparent electrode.
7. The display module according to claim 3, further comprising: a
sealant, provided between the display panel and the transparent
cover plate, and encapsulating the viewing-angle switching element,
wherein the first transparent electrode and the second transparent
electrode are located on a side of the sealant that faces the
viewing-angle switching layer.
8. The display module according to claim 3, further comprising: a
sealant, provided between the display panel and the transparent
cover plate, and encapsulating the viewing-angle switching element,
wherein the first transparent electrode and the second transparent
electrode overlap with the sealant in an arrangement direction of
the display panel and the backlight module.
9. The display module according to claim 1, further comprising a
conductive first adhesive, wherein the first adhesive bonds the
first conducting wire and the third conducting wire, and the first
adhesive also bonds the second conducting wire and the fourth
conducting wire.
10. The display module according to claim 1, further comprising a
second adhesive, wherein the second adhesive bonds the
viewing-angle switching element and the transparent cover
plate.
11. The display module according to claim 1, further comprising a
sealant, wherein the sealant is provided between the display panel
and the transparent cover plate, and encapsulates the viewing-angle
switching element.
12. The display module according to claim 1, further comprising: an
optical adhesive and a sealant, wherein the optical adhesive is
located on a side of the viewing-angle switching element that is
close to the transparent cover plate, and partially surrounds the
viewing-angle switching element; the sealant is provided between
the display panel and the transparent cover plate, and encapsulates
the optical adhesive.
13. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the backlight
module comprises: a light source, a light guide plate and a
reversing prism; the light source is located on a light incident
side of the light guide plate, and the reversing prism is located
on a side of the light guide plate that is close to the display
panel.
14. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the backlight
module comprises: a light source configured to emit light that
meets the preset condition; the light source comprises:
sub-millimeter light-emitting diodes arranged in an array.
15. The display module according to claim 1, wherein a distance
between the lower polarizer sheet and the backlight module is 0.03
mm to 0.07 mm.
16. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the lower
polarizer sheet is a multilayer reflective polarizer sheet.
17. The display module according to claim 1, wherein the lower
polarizer sheet is located between the backlight module and the
display panel.
18. A display device, comprising: the display module according to
claim 1.
19. A viewing-angle switching method, applied to the display module
according to claim 1, the method comprising: controlling the
viewing-angle switching element to switch the viewing-angle modes
of the display module.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a U.S. National Phase Entry of International
Application No. PCT/CN2020/089948 filed on May 13, 2020,
designating the United States of America and claiming priority to
Chinese Patent Application No. 201910413499.1, filed on May 17,
2019. The present application claims priority to and the benefit of
the above-identified applications and the above-identified
applications are incorporated by reference herein in their
entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a display module, a
display device, and a viewing-angle switching method.
BACKGROUND
With development of society and abundance of material conditions, a
wide variety of display devices such as mobile phones, computers,
and televisions are becoming more and more closely associated with
people's work and life. However, while the display devices provide
people with many conveniences, privacy leakage is always
unavoidable. In this regard, some anti-peep technologies have
emerged in the industry.
Related anti-peep technologies include a glasses-type technology
and a naked eye-type technology, of which the glasses-type
technology uses an external auxiliary device such as auxiliary
glasses to separate and protect confidential information, while the
naked eye-type technology implements anti-peep display by
controlling an angle of incident light; and the related naked
eye-type technology may implement switching between anti-peep
display and normal display at a same time.
SUMMARY
In first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
display module, including: a backlight module, a display panel, a
lower polarizer sheet, a viewing-angle switching element and a
transparent cover plate; the viewing-angle switching element and
the transparent cover plate are arranged between the display panel
and the lower polarizer sheet, and the transparent cover plate is
arranged on a side of the viewing-angle switching element that is
close to the lower polarizer sheet; the backlight module is
configured to supply light that meets a preset condition, the
viewing-angle switching element is configured to switch
viewing-angle modes of the display module; the viewing-angle modes
include: a first viewing-angle mode and a second viewing-angle
mode; and a viewing-angle range of the first viewing-angle mode is
smaller than a viewing-angle range of the second viewing-angle
mode.
For example, the preset condition is that a light emergent angle is
less than or equal to 45 degrees.
For example, the viewing-angle switching element includes: a first
transparent electrode, a second transparent electrode, and a
viewing-angle switching layer; the viewing-angle switching layer is
located between the first transparent electrode and the second
transparent electrode; the first transparent electrode is located
on a side of the viewing-angle switching layer that is close to the
display panel; and the first transparent electrode and the second
transparent electrode are configured to apply an electric field to
the viewing-angle switching layer to change a state of the
viewing-angle switching element.
For example, states of the viewing-angle switching element include:
a transparent state and a scattering state. When the viewing-angle
switching element is in the transparent state, the viewing-angle
switching element is configured to cause light incident thereon to
emerge along an incident direction, and the viewing-angle mode of
the display module is the first viewing-angle mode; when the
viewing-angle switching element is in the scattering state, the
viewing-angle switching element is configured to scatter incident
light, and the viewing-angle mode of the display module is the
second viewing-angle mode.
For example, each of the first transparent electrode and the second
transparent electrode is provided with a transparent insulating
layer on a side away from the viewing-angle switching layer.
For example, the viewing-angle switching element further includes a
switcher sealant; and the switcher sealant connects the first
transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode.
For example, the display module further includes: a sealant,
provided between the display panel and the transparent cover plate,
and encapsulating the viewing-angle switching element. The first
transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode are
located on a side of the sealant that faces the viewing-angle
switching layer.
For example, the display module further includes: a sealant,
provided between the display panel and the transparent cover plate,
and encapsulating the viewing-angle switching element. The first
transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode overlap
with the sealant in an arrangement direction of the display panel
and the backlight module.
For example, the display module further includes: a flexible
circuit board, a first conducting wire, a second conducting wire, a
third conducting wire, and a fourth conducting wire; the first
conducting wire and the second conducting wire are arranged on a
side of the display panel that is close to the viewing-angle
switching element, and are respectively connected with the flexible
circuit board; the third conducting wire connects the first
conducting wire and the first transparent electrode; and the fourth
conducting wire connects the second conducting wire and the second
transparent electrode.
For example, the display module further includes a conductive first
adhesive; the first adhesive bonds the first conducting wire and
the third conducting wire, and the first adhesive also bonds the
second conducting wire and the fourth conducting wire.
For example, the display module further includes a second adhesive;
the second adhesive bonds the viewing-angle switching element and
the transparent cover plate.
For example, the display module further includes a sealant; the
sealant is provided between the display panel and the transparent
cover plate, and encapsulates the viewing-angle switching
element.
For example, the display module further includes an optical
adhesive and a sealant; the optical adhesive is located on a side
of the viewing-angle switching element that is close to the
transparent cover plate, and partially surrounds the viewing-angle
switching element; the sealant is provided between the display
panel and the transparent cover plate, and encapsulates the optical
adhesive.
For example, the backlight module includes: a light source, a light
guide plate and a reversing prism; wherein, the light source is
located on a light incident side of the light guide plate, and the
reversing prism is located on a side of the light guide plate that
is close to the display panel.
For example, the backlight module includes: a light source
configured to emit light that meets the preset condition; the light
source includes: sub-millimeter light-emitting diodes arranged in
an array.
For example, a distance between the lower polarizer sheet and the
backlight module is 0.03 mm to 0.07 mm.
For example, the lower polarizer sheet is a multilayer reflective
polarizer sheet.
For example, the lower polarizer sheet is located between the
backlight module and the display panel.
In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure
provides a display device, including: the display module provided
by any one of the embodiments described above.
In the third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure
provides a viewing-angle switching method, applied to the display
module described above; the method including: controlling the
viewing-angle switching element to switch the viewing-angle modes
of the display module.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to explain the technical scheme of the embodiments of the
present disclosure more clearly, the drawings of the embodiments
will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the
following description only refer to some embodiments of the present
disclosure, without limiting the present disclosure.
FIG. 1A is a structural schematic diagram I of a display module
provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 1B is a structural schematic diagram II of a display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2A is a structural schematic diagram I of a backlight module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2B schematically shows a light guide plate with an uneven
structure in the backlight module provided in FIG. 2A;
FIG. 2C is a structural schematic diagram II of the backlight
module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2D is a schematic top view of sub-millimeter light-emitting
diodes arranged in an array in the backlight module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3A is a state diagram I of a viewing-angle switching element
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3B is a state diagram II of the viewing-angle switching
element provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view I of the display module provided
by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view II of the display module provided
by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 4A;
FIG. 6A is a top view of the display module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6B is a structural schematic diagram III of the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the display module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 8 is a partial schematic diagram of the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9A is a structural schematic diagram IV of the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9B is a structural schematic diagram V of the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9C is a structural schematic diagram VI of the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 10A is a structural schematic diagram VII of the display
module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;
and
FIG. 10B is a structural schematic diagram VIII of the display
module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In order to make objects, technical details and advantages of the
embodiments of the present disclosure apparent, the technical
solutions of the embodiment will be described in a clearly and
fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to
the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is obvious that the
described embodiments are just a part but not all of the
embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the described
embodiments herein, those skilled in the art can obtain other
embodiment(s), without any inventive work, which should be within
the scope of the present disclosure.
Unless otherwise specified, the technical terms or scientific terms
used in the present disclosure should be of general meaning as
understood by those ordinarily skilled in the art. In the
disclosure, words such as "first", "second" and the like do not
denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used for
distinguishing different components. Similarly, words such as
"include" or "comprise" and the like denote that elements or
objects appearing before the words of "include" or "comprise" cover
the elements or the objects enumerated after the words of "include"
or "comprise" or equivalents thereof, not exclusive of other
elements or objects. Words such as "connected" or "connecting" and
the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but
may include electrical connection, either direct or indirect. Words
such as "up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used
for expressing relative positional relationship, when the absolute
position of the described object is changed, the relative
positional relationship may also be correspondingly changed.
Inventors of the present disclosure find out, through research,
that a display module that can implement switching between
anti-peep display and normal display in a related art has a
relatively large thickness, thus failing to make a product light
and thin.
Current mainstream anti-peep technologies mainly include three
types below: a first technology is a combination of a display
device and anti-peep glasses, and such a technology is a
glasses-type anti-peep technology; a second technology is to
provide a 3M anti-peep film and a polymer dispersed liquid crystal
film in a backlight module; and a third technology is to provide a
reversing prism and a polymer dispersed liquid crystal film in a
backlight module. The second technology and the third technology
are naked eye-type technologies.
In the first technology, the display device must be used with
anti-peep glasses, which cannot implement free switching between
anti-peep display and normal display, and is difficult to spread in
daily applications. In the second technology, the anti-peep film
and the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film are arranged in the
backlight module of the display device, wherein the anti-peep film
may reduce a viewing angle of the backlight module, while switching
between anti-peep display and normal display may be implemented by
controlling different states of the polymer dispersed liquid
crystal film when energized/non-energized. Although the second
technology may implement switching between anti-peep display and
normal display, it has disadvantages below: (1) because the
anti-peep film is relatively thick, and in order to avoid
adsorption between the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film and a
lower polarizer sheet, there should be a relatively large gap
between the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film and a lower
polarizer sheet, which further leads to a relatively large
thickness of the display module; (2) because the anti-peep film has
a great loss of light, and the lower polarizer sheet cannot adopt a
multilayer reflective polarizer sheet, light transmittance is low,
which further leads to high power consumption of the display
device; and (3) because the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film
is arranged in the backlight module, a flexible circuit board needs
to be drawn from the backlight module to be connected with a
printed circuit board, which further leads to difficulties in
layout of the printed circuit board in the display device, and
reduces production efficiency of a product. In the third
technology, the reversing prism and the polymer dispersed liquid
crystal film are arranged in the backlight module of the display
device, wherein, the reversing prism may reduce a viewing angle of
the backlight module, while switching between anti-peep display and
normal display may be implemented by controlling different states
of the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film when
energized/non-energized; as compared with the second technology,
although the third technology reduces the thickness of a display
module to a certain extent, the thickness of the display module is
too large to make a product light and thin; in addition, the lower
polarizer sheet still fails to adopt a multilayer reflective
polarizer sheet, which makes the display module consume a lot of
power; and the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film is still
provided in the backlight module, which reduces production
efficiency of the product.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display module, a
display device, and a viewing-angle switching method. The
embodiments of the present disclosure can reduce a thickness of the
display module, to further make a product light and thin.
At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
display module; FIG. 1A to FIG. 1B, FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B, FIG. 6B,
and FIG. 9A to FIG. 10B are structural schematic diagrams of the
display module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure; and as shown in these diagrams, the display module
provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure
includes a backlight module 10, a display panel 20 and a lower
polarizer sheet 30, the lower polarizer sheet 30 being located
between the backlight module 10 and the display panel 20 in an
arrangement direction of the backlight module 10 and the display
panel 20; the display module further includes a viewing-angle
switching element 40 and a transparent cover plate 50; the
viewing-angle switching element 40 and the transparent cover plate
50 being arranged between the display panel 20 and the lower
polarizer sheet 30 in the arrangement direction of the backlight
module 10 and the display panel 20; the transparent cover plate 50
is arranged on a side of the viewing-angle switching element 40
that is close to the lower polarizer sheet 30 (i.e., the
transparent cover plate 50 being located between the viewing-angle
switching element 40 and the lower polarizer sheet 30 in the
arrangement direction of the backlight module 10 and the display
panel 20).
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the backlight module
10 is configured to supply light that meets a preset condition, the
viewing-angle switching element 40 is configured to switch a
viewing-angle mode of the display module; the viewing-angle mode
includes: a first viewing-angle mode and a second viewing-angle
mode; and a viewing-angle range of the first viewing-angle mode is
smaller than a viewing-angle range of the second viewing-angle
mode. The first viewing-angle mode is used for implementing
anti-peep display, and the second viewing-angle mode is used for
implementing normal display.
For example, the display module provided by the embodiment of the
present disclosure further includes an upper polarizer 60; the
display panel 20 is located between the upper polarizer 60 and the
lower polarizer sheet 30; and optical axes of the upper polarizer
60 and the lower polarizer sheet 30 are perpendicular to each
other.
For example, the display panel 20 may be a liquid crystal display
panel or other non-active light-emitting display panel. For
example, as shown in FIGS. 1B, 4B, 6B, 9B, 9C and 10B, the display
panel 20 includes an array substrate 201 and an opposed substrate
202 arranged opposite to each other; the array substrate 202
includes a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a matrix. For
example, when the display panel 20 is a liquid crystal display
panel, the display panel 20 includes: an array substrate and an
opposed substrate (e.g., the opposed substrate is a color filter
substrate including a color filter) arranged opposite to each
other, as well as a liquid crystal layer provided between the array
substrate and the opposed substrate (not shown); and the array
substrate is arranged on a side of the liquid crystal layer that is
close to the backlight module 10 (i.e., the array substrate is
located between the liquid crystal layer and the backlight
module).
For example, the backlight module 10 is configured to supply the
display panel 20 with light that meets a preset condition. For
example, the preset condition is that a light emergent angle (i.e.,
an angle between emergent light and a normal) is less than or equal
to 45 degrees; for example, the preset condition is that the light
emergent angle is 30 degrees, which will not be limited in the
embodiment of the present disclosure.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the transparent cover
plate 50 is configured to separate the viewing-angle switching
element 40 from the lower polarizer sheet 30, which can avoid
adsorption between the viewing-angle switching element 40 and the
lower polarizer sheet 30. Because the transparent cover plate 50 is
made of a transparent material, the transparent cover plate does
not affect display of the display module.
For example, the lower polarizer sheet 30 is in direct contact with
the transparent cover plate 50. By providing the transparent cover
plate 50, it is convenient to adhere to the lower polarizer sheet
30 (an upper surface of the lower polarizer sheet 30 is an adhesive
surface, and the adhesive surface is adhered to the transparent
cover plate 50), thereby reducing difficulties in a fabrication
process.
For example, the transparent cover plate 50 may be made of a rigid
material or a flexible material. For example, the lower polarizer
sheet 30 is rigid, and the transparent cover plate 50 is also
rigid; such arrangement facilitates adhesion therebetween. For
example, the rigid material may include, but not limited to glass;
the flexible substrate may be made of a material including, but not
limited to one or more of polyethylene glycol terephthalate,
bis-.beta.-hydroxyethyl terepliathalate, polyether ether ketone,
polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyarylester, polyimide,
polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and textile fiber, as long as the
material is a transparent material, which will not be limited in
the embodiment of the present disclosure.
The display module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure includes the backlight module, the display panel and the
lower polarizer sheet, and further includes the viewing-angle
switching element and the transparent cover plate; the lower
polarizer sheet is located between the backlight module and the
display panel, the viewing-angle switching element and the
transparent cover plate are arranged between the display panel and
the lower polarizer sheet, the transparent cover plate is arranged
on the side of the viewing-angle switching element that is close to
the lower polarizer sheet; the backlight module is configured to
supply light that meets the preset condition, the viewing-angle
switching element is configured to switch the viewing-angle modes
of the display module; the viewing-angle modes includes the first
viewing-angle mode and the second viewing-angle mode, and the
viewing-angle range of the first viewing-angle mode is smaller than
the viewing-angle range of the second viewing-angle mode. The
technical solution provided by the present disclosure, by arranging
the viewing-angle switching element configured to switch the
viewing angle of the display module between the display panel and
the transparent cover plate, avoids a large gap between the
viewing-angle switching element and the lower polarizer sheet, and
can reduce the thickness of the display module, to further make the
product light and thin.
For example, since the transparent cover plate 50 is provided
between the viewing-angle switching element 40 and the lower
polarizer sheet 30, there is no adsorption between the
viewing-angle switching element 40 and the lower polarizer sheet
30. For example, the lower polarizer sheet according to the
embodiment of the present disclosure can be a multilayer reflective
polarizer sheet; and the multilayer reflective polarizer sheet has
higher light transmittance and can reduce power consumption of the
display module, which achieves a low power consumption of the
product.
For example, because the viewing-angle switching element 40 is
provided between the display panel 20 and the transparent cover
plate 50, but not in the backlight module 10, a distance L between
the lower polarizer sheet 30 and the backlight module 10 is 0.03 mm
to 0.07 mm, which further reduces the thickness of the display
module and makes the product light and thin. It should be noted
that, the distance L is a distance from the film of the backlight
module 10, closest to the lower polarizer sheet 30, to the lower
polarizer sheet 30. For example, with respect to the backlight
module shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the distance L is a distance
from the reversing prism 13, which is the film of the backlight
module 10 closest to the lower polarizer sheet 30, to the lower
polarizer sheet 30; with respect to the backlight module 10 as
shown in FIG. 2C, the distance L is a distance from the diffuser
sheet 15 which is the film of the backlight module 10 closest to
the lower polarizer sheet 30, to the lower polarizer sheet 30.
The backlight module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure is configured to supply light that meets the preset
condition, and the embodiment of the present disclosure provides
two implementation modes of the backlight module.
As one implementation mode, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are structural
schematic diagrams of the backlight module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure; as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG.
2B, the backlight module 10 provided by at least one embodiment of
the present disclosure includes a light source 11, a light guide
plate 12 and a reversing prism 13; the light source 11 is located
on a light incident side of the light guide plate 12, and the
reversing prism 13 is located on a side of the light guide plate 12
that is close to the display panel (i.e., the reversing prism 13 is
located between the light guide plate 12 and the display panel 20).
For example, the reversing prism 13 includes a base substrate and a
plurality of prism microstructures located on a side of the base
substrate that faces the light guide plate 12; and each prism
microstructure includes two inclined surfaces that form a non-zero
included angle. For example, the reversing prism 13 is adjacent to
the light guide plate 12, that is to say, light emergent from the
light guide plate 12 is directly incident into the reversing prism
after passing through a gap between the light guide plate 12 and
the reversing prism 13 (e.g., the gap is an air layer).
For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, a surface 121 of the light guide
plate 12 that faces away from the reversing prism 13 (a lower
surface in the diagram) has an uneven structure 12A; and the uneven
structure 12A has two intersecting inclined surfaces. By making the
light guide plate 12 have the uneven structure 12A and by adopting
the reversing prism, the backlight module may emit light that meets
the preset condition, that is, a narrow viewing-angle backlight
module may be implemented.
For example, the light source 11 may be a light source of a
side-lit type (i.e., light emitted by the light source 11 enters
the light guide plate 12 from a side surface of the light guide
plate 12), or may be a light source of a direct-lit type (i.e.,
light emitted by the light source 11 enters the light guide plate
12 from a lower surface of the light guide plate 12); and it should
be noted that FIG. 2A is described by taking an example that the
light source 11 is a light source of a side-lit type.
As the other implementation mode, FIG. 2C is a structural schematic
diagram II of the backlight module provided by the embodiment of
the present disclosure; as shown in FIG. 2C, the backlight module
10 provided by at least another embodiment of the present
disclosure includes a light source 14 of a direct-lit type
configured to emit light that meets the preset condition; and the
light source 14 includes sub-millimeter light-emitting diodes 140
arranged in an array.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the backlight module provided by
some embodiments of the present disclosure further includes a
diffuser sheet 15 configured to uniformly diffuse light; the
diffuser sheet 15 is located on a side of the backlight module 10
that is close to the display panel (e.g., the diffuser sheet 15 is
located between the sub-millimeter light-emitting diodes 140 and
the display panel). Light emitted by the sub-millimeter
light-emitting diodes 140 after passing through the diffuser sheet
15 meets the above-described preset condition.
For example, in order to improve a light utilization rate, as shown
in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C, the backlight module further includes a
reflective sheet 16; and the reflective sheet 16 is located on a
side of the backlight module 10 that is away from the display
panel.
In the display module provided by the embodiments of the present
disclosure, because the viewing-angle switching element 40
configured to switch the viewing-angle mode of the display module
is provided between the backlight module 10 and the display panel
20, the backlight module 10 neither includes the polymer dispersed
liquid crystal film mentioned in the second technology and the
third technology as described above, nor includes the anti-peep
film mentioned in the above-described second technology. Therefore,
the backlight module in the display module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure has a smaller thickness.
For example, FIG. 3A is a state diagram I of the viewing-angle
switching element provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure; FIG. 3B is a state diagram II of the viewing-angle
switching element provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure; as shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the viewing-angle
switching element 40 in the display module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a first transparent
electrode 41, a second transparent electrode 42 and a viewing-angle
switching layer 43. Both the first transparent electrode 41 and the
second transparent electrode 42 are continuous planar
structures.
For example, the viewing-angle switching layer 43 is located
between the first transparent electrode 41 and the second
transparent electrode 42; the first transparent electrode 41 is
located on a side of the viewing-angle switching layer 43 that is
close to the display panel 20 (i.e., the first transparent
electrode 41 is located between the viewing-angle switching layer
43 and the display panel 20); and the first transparent electrode
41 and the second transparent electrode 42 are configured to apply
an electric field to the viewing-angle switching layer 43, so as to
change a state of the viewing-angle switching element 40.
For example, the state of the viewing-angle switching element 40
include a transparent state and a scattering state. When the
viewing-angle switching element 40 is in the transparent state, the
viewing-angle switching element 40 is configured to cause light
incident thereon to emerge along an incident direction; and the
viewing-angle mode of the display module is the first viewing-angle
mode; when the viewing-angle switching element 40 is in the
scattering state, the viewing-angle switching element 40 is
configured to scatter incident light; and the viewing-angle mode of
the display module is the second viewing-angle mode. FIG. 3A is
described by taking that the viewing-angle switching element is in
the transparent state as an example; and FIG. 3B is described by
taking that the viewing-angle switching element is in the
scattering state as an example.
For example, the first transparent electrode 41 and the second
transparent electrode 42 are made of a transparent conductive
material; for example, the transparent conductive material may be
indium tin oxide or zinc tin oxide, which will not be limited in
the embodiment of the present disclosure.
For example, the viewing-angle switching layer 43 can be made of a
polymer dispersed liquid crystal or a multi-stable liquid crystal,
or can be made of other material that may change between the
transparent state and the scattering state, or may be any other
implementation mode that may switch between the transparent state
and the scattering state well-known to those skilled in the
art.
For example, when the viewing-angle switching layer 43 is made of a
polymer dispersed liquid crystal, the viewing-angle switching layer
43 includes: a polymer matrix 431 and a liquid crystal 432 mixed in
the polymer matrix 431.
For example, a mass mixing ratio of the polymer matrix and the
liquid crystal is 1:0.8 to 1.2.
For example, a material of the polymer matrix may be one or more
components of hydroxypropyl acrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate,
lauryl acrylate, lauryl methacrylate, isobornyl acrylate, isobornyl
methacrylate, hexanediol diacrylate, ethyl phenoxy acrylate, ethyl
phenoxy methacrylate, trimethylcyclohexyl acrylate, benzyl
methacrylate, hexyl acrylate, hexyl methacrylate, polyethylene
glycol diacrylate, and ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate.
It should be noted that, liquid crystal is an anisotropic
substance; when light propagates in the liquid crystal,
birefringence occurs; after passing through a birefringent
substance, natural light will be decomposed into two beams of fully
polarized light, one beam is ordinary light that obeys laws of
refraction, and the other beam is extraordinary light that does not
obey the laws of refraction. Therefore, the liquid crystal has a
refractive index no of ordinary light (hereinafter referred to as
an ordinary refractive index) and a refractive index ne of
extraordinary light.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a refractive index of
the polymer matrix is inconsistent with an effective refractive
index of the liquid crystal; and the refractive index of the
polymer matrix is consistent with the ordinary refractive index of
the liquid crystal. It should be noted that the effective
refractive index of the liquid crystal, which is inconsistent with
the refractive index of the polymer matrix, refers to the
statistical refractive index of the overall liquid crystal when the
liquid crystal is freely arranged without an action of an electric
field. The ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal refers
to the refractive index of ordinary light of the liquid crystal,
which can be understood as that when an arrangement direction of
the liquid crystal is consistent with the electric field under the
action of the electric field, the ordinary refractive index of the
arrangement direction of the liquid crystal is consistent with the
refractive index of the polymer matrix. For example, that the
refractive index of the polymer matrix is inconsistent with the
effective refractive index of the liquid crystal refers to that a
difference between the refractive index of the polymer matrix and
the effective refractive index of the liquid crystal is greater
than 0.01; that the refractive index of the polymer matrix is
consistent with the ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal
refers to that a difference between the refractive index of the
polymer matrix and the ordinary refractive index of the liquid
crystal is less than or equal to 0.01.
For example, the refractive index of the polymer matrix is equal to
the ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal.
For example, the liquid crystal may be a smectic liquid crystal
(i.e., a liquid crystal whose molecules are arranged in an orderly
degree similar to that of a crystal); the smectic liquid crystal
has better stability and can maintain the stable transparent state
and scattering state of the viewing-angle switching element.
For example, when fabricating the viewing-angle switching layer,
the smectic liquid crystal and the material for fabricating the
polymer matrix may be mixed uniformly, then squeezed between two
layers of transparent electrodes to form a thin film, and then the
thin film is irradiated with ultraviolet light at a temperature of
25 degrees Celsius, so as to obtain the viewing-angle switching
layer located between the two layers of transparent electrodes. In
the obtained viewing-angle switching layer, the liquid crystal
presents in the polymer matrix in a state of micron-scale
droplets.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, a
thickness of the viewing-angle switching layer 43 is 5 .mu.m to 20
.mu.m.
In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the
first transparent electrode 41 and the second transparent electrode
42 are respectively applied with different electrical signals to
generate an electric field therebetween, the liquid crystal in the
polymer matrix is regularly arranged along a direction of the
electric field; the ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal
is consistent with the refractive index of the polymer matrix, so
that the viewing-angle switching element is in the transparent
state, light may freely penetrate the viewing-angle switching
element; in this case, light emergent from the viewing-angle
switching element is emergent in a direction of the incident light,
and the viewing-angle mode of the display module is the first
viewing-angle mode to implement anti-peep display; when the
electrical signal applied to the first transparent electrode 41 and
the second transparent electrode 42 disappears, due to an anchoring
action between the liquid crystal molecules and the matrix
interface, the liquid crystal molecules are in an irregularly
dispersed state, the effective refractive index of the liquid
crystal is inconsistent with the refractive index of the polymer
matrix; in this case, the viewing-angle switching element is in the
scattering state, has a divergent effect on light, and can diffuse
a light emitting angle, and the viewing-angle mode of the display
module is the second viewing-angle mode to implement normal
display. The display module provided by the embodiment of the
present disclosure, by controlling the electrical signals applied
to the two transparent electrodes of the viewing-angle switching
element, switches the viewing-angle modes of the display module, to
further implement switching between anti-peep display and normal
display.
For example, in order to protect the viewing-angle switching
element and further improve service life of the display module, as
shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, a transparent insulating layer is
provided on a side of each transparent electrode away from the
viewing-angle switching layer, in the display module provided by
the embodiment of the present disclosure has.
For example, the above-described transparent insulating layers in
the display module includes a first transparent insulating layer 44
and a second transparent insulating layer 45; the first transparent
insulating layer 44 is provided on a side of the first transparent
electrode 41 that is away from the viewing-angle switching layer 43
(i.e., the first transparent insulating layer 44 is located on a
side of the first transparent electrode 41 that faces the display
panel 40), and the second transparent insulating layer 45 is
provided on a side of the second transparent electrode 42 that is
away from the viewing-angle switching layer 43.
For example, the first transparent insulating layer 44 and the
second transparent insulating layer 45 may be made of silicon
oxide, silicon nitride, or a composite of silicon oxide and silicon
nitride, as long as it is a transparent insulating material, which
will not be limited in the embodiment of the present
disclosure.
For example, FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are cross-sectional views of the
display module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure; FIG. 5 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 4A; FIG. 6A
is a top view of the display module provided by the embodiment of
the present disclosure; FIG. 6B is a structural schematic diagram
of the display module provided by the present disclosure; FIG. 7 is
a bottom view of the display module provided by the embodiment of
the present disclosure; as shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 7, the display
module provided by at least one embodiment of the present
disclosure further includes: a flexible circuit board 70, a first
conducting wire 7A, a second conducting wire 7B, a third conducting
wire 71 and a fourth conducting wire 72. As shown in FIG. 6B, the
first conducting wire 7A and the second conducting wire 7B are
arranged on a side of the display panel 20 that is close to the
viewing-angle switching element 40; for example, the first
conducting wire 7A and the second conducting wire 7B are in direct
contact with the array substrate 201 of the display panel 20. For
example, the first conducting wire 7A and the second conducting
wire 7B each have a portion located between the display panel 20
and the viewing-angle switching element 40, and also include a
portion located on a side surface of the array substrate 201. In
addition, the first conducting wire 7A and the second conducting
wire 7B are each connected with the flexible circuit board 70. It
should be noted that, the second conducting wire 7B is electrically
connected with wiring in the display panel 20, and further
electrically connected with the flexible circuit board 70. The
third conducting wire 71 is connected with the first conducting
wire 7A and the first transparent electrode 41; and the fourth
conducting wire 72 is connected with the second conducting wire 7B
and the second transparent electrode 42. That is, the first
transparent electrode 41 is electrically connected with the first
conducting wire 7A through the third conducting wire 71, and is
further electrically connected with the flexible circuit board 70;
and the second transparent electrode 42 is electrically connected
with the second conducting wire 7B through the fourth conducting
wire 72, and is further electrically connected with the flexible
circuit board 70.
The display module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure further includes a printed circuit board 80; the
flexible circuit board 70 is connected with the printed circuit
board 80; and the flexible circuit board 70 is also connected with
the array substrate 201 (i.e., the flexible circuit board 70 is
drawn from the array substrate 201), so that the array substrate
201 is electrically connected with the printed circuit board 80
through the flexible circuit board 70.
For example, the first conducting wire 7A and the second conducting
wire 7B are arranged on a side of the array substrate 201 that is
close to the viewing-angle switching element 40. It should be noted
that, the flexible circuit board 70 in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 is
configured to connect the display panel and the printed circuit
board 80.
In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the third
conducting wire 71 and the fourth conducting wire 72 may be
arranged around the viewing-angle switching element 40; for
example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the third conducting wire 71 extends
along one side edge of the viewing-angle switching element 40, and
the fourth conducting wire 72 extends along the other side edge of
the viewing-angle switching element 40; for example, the other side
edge is opposite to the one side edge. Or, through holes may also
be opened in the viewing-angle switching element 40; and the third
conducting wire 71 and the fourth conducting wire 72 are provided
in the through holes, which will not be limited in the embodiment
of the present disclosure; it should be noted that, in FIG. 6, it
is described by taking that the third conducting wire 71 and the
fourth conducting wire 72 are arranged around a portion of the
viewing-angle switching element 40 as an example. Preferably, in
order to increase the service life of the display module, the third
conducting wire 71 and the fourth conducting wire 72 may be
arranged to encircle the viewing-angle switching element.
For example, the third conducting wire 71 and the fourth conducting
wire 72 may be made of copper.
In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
FIG. 7, the printed circuit board 80 includes a light bar connector
81 configured to be connected with the light source 11/14 in the
backlight module, so as to supply a voltage to the light source
11/14. As compared with the anti-peep technology provided in the
related art, the printed circuit board 80 in the display module
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is not
provided with any other port connected with the backlight module
except the light bar connector 81.
The viewing-angle switching element according to the embodiment of
the present disclosure connects the flexible circuit board 70 and
the printed circuit board 80 through conducting wire provided on
the display panel 20, thereby omitting two flexible circuit boards
being drawn from the backlight module and configured to couple the
polymer liquid crystal film included in the backlight module to the
printed circuit board, which are provided when anti-peep display is
implemented in the related art, and omitting two drive connectors
used for the polymer liquid crystal film. Therefore, in the
embodiment of the present disclosure, the printed circuit board 80
connected with the array substrate 201 through the flexible circuit
board 70 may be adopted for circuit layout, which improves
production efficiency of the product.
For example, FIG. 8 is a partial schematic diagram of the display
module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; as
shown in FIG. 8, the display module provided by the embodiment of
the present disclosure further includes a conductive first adhesive
73; the first adhesive 73 is used to bond the first conducting wire
7A and the third conducting wire 71 (referring to FIG. 6B), and is
also used to bond the second conducting wire 7B and the fourth
conducting wire 72 (referring to FIG. 6B).
The embodiment of the present disclosure can improve a yield rate
of the display module by providing the first adhesive 73, and avoid
a low yield rate of the display module caused by poor contact
between the first conducting wire the third conducting wire, or
poor contact between the second conducting wire and the fourth
conducting wire.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the display module provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a second
adhesive 74; and the second adhesive 74 is used to bond the
viewing-angle switching element 40 and the transparent cover
plate.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second adhesive 74
may play a role in fixing the viewing-angle switching element 40
and the transparent cover plate 50, thereby improving the yield
rate of the display module.
For example, in order to prevent water and oxygen from entering the
viewing-angle switching element to cause failure of the
viewing-angle switching element, and in order to improve the yield
rate of the display module, the embodiment of the present
disclosure provides a variety of modes of encapsulating the
viewing-angle switching element. FIG. 9A to FIG. 10B are structural
schematic diagrams of the display module provided by the embodiment
of the present disclosure; as shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. 9A to FIG.
10B, the display module provided by the embodiment of the present
disclosure further includes a sealant 90. The sealant 90 is
provided between the display panel 20 and the transparent cover
plate 50, to encapsulate the viewing-angle switching element 40.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, FIG. 9B to FIG. 9C and FIG. 10B,
the viewing-angle switching element 40 further includes a switcher
sealant 49; the switcher sealant 49 connects the first transparent
electrode 41 and the second transparent electrode 42; and the
viewing-angle switching layer 43 is located in a region enclosed by
the switcher sealant 49, the first transparent electrode 41 and the
second transparent electrode 42.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, FIG. 9A to FIG. 9C, FIG. 10A and
FIG. 10B, the sealant 90 connects the display panel 20 and the
transparent cover plate 50 to form a cavity between the display
panel 20 and the transparent cover plate 50; and the viewing-angle
switching element 40 is located in the cavity. For example, the
switcher sealant 49 and the viewing-angle switching layer 43 are
both located in the cavity. For example, each of the first
transparent electrode 41 and the second transparent electrode 42 is
only partially or entirely located on a side of the sealant 90 that
faces the viewing-angle switching layer 43.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the viewing-angle
switching element 40 and the transparent cover plate 50 are vacuum
bonded (i.e., bonded by vacuum suction).
For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, the
display module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure
further includes an optical adhesive 91. The optical adhesive 91 is
located in the cavity between the display panel 20 and the
transparent cover plate 50, is located on a side of the
viewing-angle switching element 40 that is close to the transparent
cover plate 50 (i.e., the viewing-angle switching element 40 is
located on a side of the optical adhesive 91 that is away from the
transparent cover plate 50), and is used to partially surround the
viewing-angle switching element 40; the sealant 90 is provided
between the display panel 20 and the transparent cover plate 50, to
encapsulate the optical adhesive 91. The optical adhesive 91 is
obtained by curing a liquid optical adhesive. In this
implementation mode, for example, the upper surface of the
viewing-angle switching element 40 is in contact with the display
panel 20, and the side surface and the lower surface of the
viewing-angle switching element 40 are surrounded by the optical
adhesive 91; and the viewing-angle switching element 40 is free of
substances such as water and oxygen, and is vacuum bonded with the
display panel 20 and the transparent cover plate 50.
In some embodiments, the viewing-angle switching element 40 may be
fabricated separately and then placed between the display panel 20
and the transparent cover plate 50. For example, in this case, the
viewing-angle switching element 40 is bonded to the transparent
cover plate 50 by vacuum suction or bonded to the transparent cover
plate 50 by the optical adhesive 91. In this case, for example, the
first transparent electrode 41 of the viewing-angle switching
element 40 is electrically connected with the first conducting wire
7A through a portion of the above-described conductive first
adhesive 73; and the second transparent electrode 42 is
electrically connected with the second conducting wire 7B through
another portion of the above-described conductive first adhesive
73. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the switcher sealant 49
located at a junction of the first conducting wire 7A and the third
conducting wire 71 is electrically insulated; and the switcher
sealant 49 located at a junction of the second conducting wire 7B
and the fourth conducting wire 72 is conductive (e.g., conductive
particles are provided in the switcher sealant 49 to implement a
conductive function); and the first transparent electrode 41 is
spaced apart from the conductive switcher sealant 49, so that the
first transparent electrode 41 and the second transparent electrode
42 are electrically insulated from each other.
In other embodiments, the viewing-angle switching element 40 may be
formed in following mode: forming the first transparent electrode
41 on a side of the array substrate 201 that faces the backlight
module 10; forming the second transparent electrode 42 on a side of
the transparent cover plate 50 that faces the display panel 20;
thereafter, cell-assembling the array substrate 201 with the first
transparent electrode 41 formed thereon and the transparent cover
plate 50 with the second transparent electrode 42 formed thereon;
and placing the viewing-angle switching layer 43 between the array
substrate 201 with the first transparent electrode 41 formed
thereon and the transparent cover plate 50 with the second
transparent electrode 42 formed thereon. In this case, for example,
as shown in FIG. 9C, the first transparent electrode 41 and the
second transparent electrode 42 overlap with the sealant 90 in the
arrangement direction of the display panel 20 and the backlight
module 10. In addition, in this case, there is no need to use the
first adhesive 71 and the second adhesive 73 as described above,
thereby further reducing the thickness and simplifying the
structure of the display module.
Based on the inventive concept of any one of the above-described
embodiments, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure
further provides a viewing-angle switching method; the
viewing-angle switching method is applied to the display module;
and the viewing-angle switching method provided by the embodiment
of the present disclosure includes: controlling the viewing-angle
switching element to switch the viewing-angle mode of the display
module. Controlling the viewing-angle switching element includes:
controlling a state of the viewing-angle switching element by
controlling an electric field applied to the first transparent
electrode and the second transparent electrode; when the
viewing-angle switching element is in the transparent state, the
viewing-angle mode of the display module is the first viewing-angle
mode; and when the viewing-angle switching element is in the
scattering state, the viewing-angle mode of the display module is
the second viewing-angle mode.
The display module is the display module provided by any one of the
above-described embodiments, implementation principles and
implementation effects thereof are similar, and no details will be
repeated here.
Based on the inventive concept of any one of the above-described
embodiments, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure
further provides a display device, including a display module. The
display module is the display module provided by any one of the
above-described embodiments, implementation principles and
implementation effects thereof are similar, and no details will be
repeated here.
For example, the display device may be: a mobile phone, a tablet
personal computer, a television, a monitor, a laptop, a digital
photo frame, a navigator, and any other product or component having
a display function. Other indispensable components of the display
device will be understood by those skilled in the art, which will
not be repeated here in detail, and should not be construed to
limit the present disclosure.
Drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure only refer to
structures related to the embodiments of the present disclosure,
and other structures may refer to general design.
The embodiments of the present disclosure provide the display
module, the display device, and the viewing-angle switching method,
wherein the display module includes the backlight module, the
display panel, and the lower polarizer sheet, and further includes:
the viewing-angle switching element and the transparent cover
plate; the lower polarizer sheet is located between the backlight
module and the display panel, the viewing-angle switching element
and the transparent cover plate are arranged between the display
panel and the lower polarizer sheet, the transparent cover plate is
arranged on the side of the viewing-angle switching element that is
close to the lower polarizer sheet; the backlight module is
configured to provide light that meets the preset condition, and
the viewing-angle switching element is configured to switch the
viewing-angle modes of the display module; the viewing-angle modes
include: the first viewing-angle mode and the second viewing-angle
mode, and the viewing-angle range of the first viewing-angle mode
is smaller than the viewing-angle range of the second viewing-angle
mode. The technical solution provided by the present disclosure, by
arranging the viewing-angle switching element configured to switch
the viewing angle of the display module between the display panel
and the transparent cover plate, avoids a relatively large gap
between the viewing-angle switching element and the lower polarizer
sheet, and can reduce the thickness of the display module, to
further make the product light and thin.
The above is only exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure,
and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present
disclosure, which is determined by the appended claims.
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